In the Night
by auroraazure
Summary: AU. The Ghouls have infiltrated Domino, intending to claim the city as their own. Seto Kaiba is a detective working with a reluctant police force. When innocent citizens and old acquaintances become targets and an old rival enters the fray, will Kaiba be able to put his pride aside and defend the city? What does Anzu Mazaki have to do w/ all of this? Crime/Drama and Romance subplot
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

Everything was blurred. Her eyes struggled to adjust and all she saw were ripples. Waves that seemed to synchronize with the throbbing in her head. She struggled to move, caught between some sort of slumber and awareness. Her mind willed her body to move, but her body was held by an invisible weight. It had not yet caught up to her mind, which was roused and slowly trying to sense something… anything.

The first thing she noticed was how _cold_ she was. Had she left the window open? Had she forgotten to turn on her heat?

Her body slowly began to cooperate with her mind, with no sense of time she didn't know if it had been seconds or minutes.

Slowly, she began to stretch her limbs and attempt to move them. She felt the skin on her arms brush against the floor, which was smooth. Turning her wrist over and sliding her still tingling hand up to her head, she felt grooves and a sandy texture along the surface of what felt like a tiled floor.

She slowly lifted her head, and a metallic scent flooded her nose and mouth.

She blinked, eyes heavy, as she tried to clear her vision. She had started to see color. The stark white of the tile floor hurt her eyes as the light bounced off of it. She began to see more as her vision adjusted.

That's when she saw it.

A deep red color.

The metallic smell permeated her senses again, this time it was stronger.

She felt herself growing cold again as her mind raced.

The metallic scent, the deep red color…

She tried to slow her breathing, feeling her heart begin to beat faster in her chest. Her eyes traveled further and froze when she noticed it was coming from something. Or rather, _someone_.

Pink nail polish on perfectly manicured hands. Strands of golden blonde hair catching the light, falling against creamy white skin in perfect ringlets.

Ignoring the shooting pain that traveled from her head, her upper body bolted up and stiffened.

Her eyes traveled upwards and she saw the red again, this time on a pale lavender fabric, a vest…

Her heart slammed against her chest. Before she could stop herself, her breathing became erratic, lips parted…

…she screamed.


	2. Familiar Faces

Hello, everyone! Thank you to those who reviewed the previous chapter! I'm back with an update, and this one will be longer as it's the first official chapter. I don't really remember where this idea came from but I thought it would be a nice way to reimagine the Marik/Battle City arc. I have a lot of different plot points mapped out, all I need to do is connect them all.

This story is still set in Domino of course, it's just an AU. In my story, Seto is a self-made detective. I felt that his intelligence and knack for technology would make him a great one. I was inspired to write this story by Batman, Daredevil (the Netflix series) and Detective Conan (specifically the Shinichi character).

I decided to make Marik the leader of a gang of sorts, who is out to do bad things and take over Domino with revenge as one of his motives. Revenge on who, you ask? Well, that'd be giving everything away! I'm sure it's known at this point, since I'm following/reworking the Battle City storyline ;).

In my story, the gang and Kaiba are a bit older. They all left high school at 19, and in this story they are in their early 20's.

Anyway, please enjoy the new chapter!

Reviews are very much appreciated! I'm not the best writer but reading that people enjoy my story keeps me going!

….

 _In The Night_

 _Familiar Faces_

Chills reverberated through her body as reality set in. As she regained her senses she began so search for more details, desperate to gain an understanding of what happened.

She swallowed hard, trying to keep down the bile that kept creeping up her throat.

Her hands were shaking, and she saw smudges of blood embedded in her fingernails and the creases in her hands.

A glint of silver caught her eye, the light coming in from the window reflecting off of its surface. A knife. Its blade was soaked in a thin layer of blood, except for the base. It was wide at the base, and thinned to a sharp point. It was embedded in a gold handle.

 _No. No no no._

She crawled over to the body. Her eyes burned as they filled with tears. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. The scent of blood permeated through the air as she got closer.

"M-Mai" her voice came out as a hoarse whisper, and with trembling hands she reached out to cup Mai's face. Her tears clouded her vision but she could still see Mai's golden blonde hair caught in the light. It was the only warmth she saw, as Mai's creamy white skin was turning pale. Her lips were tinged with blue.

Anzu suppressed a sob as she cradled Mai's face. Her skin was cool to the touch.

Before she could speak again, another voice broke through the silence.

"Domino Police! Open the door!"

She jumped as thuds rained on her door. They grew louder shaking the frames on the walls, and she heard the clatter of silverware from the kitchen.

The door was thrown open and a man stumbled through.

Anzu threw herself back, heart slamming against her chest. Other police officers rushed in, clamoring. Their shoes skidding on the wooden floor.

"We've got a victim! She's severely injured, we need to call emergency services!"

The man's eyes widened when he noticed the victim the officer was referring to. The chirp of a radio echoed through the apartment as the officer began shouting.

"This is Officer Machida, I need an ambulance immediately! Sakura Apartments, downtown Domino, apartment 1501!"

"Machida! She's got a pulse, it's very faint!"

 _A pulse… that means…_

The man named Machida walked over and knelt in front of the body. Pulling a pair of powder blue gloves from his pocket, he slipped them on with a snap. He motioned for the younger officer to get out of the way.

He gently lifted the lavender vest to find the source of the injury.

"She's got a few puncture wounds in her side, from the ribcage to waist. It appears she's lost a lot of blood." Reaching down, Machida swiped the pad of his index finger through the blood.

"It's not fully dry, which means the wound must have been inflicted fairly recently."

 _Recently…?_

"When the ambulance arrives, please go with them and draft a report."

"Yes, sir."

Machida then walked over to her, and pulled her up by her arm. She winced, the pain in her body making itself known once more.

"As for you…"

Spinning her around, Machida brought both her arms behind her back, crossing them at her wrists. Feeling the cool touch of metal, she knew what would happen now. The handcuffs closed with a click.

"… you're coming with me"

Sirens wailed in the distance, the only sound that could be heard from his office. A long forgotten cup of coffee sat on his desk, along with some assorted papers.

Mokuba poked his head in after seeing that the door was slightly ajar. The sun was hidden from view behind one of the other high rises that surrounded them, but he could still see inside. The lights were off, and Mokuba sighed as his eyes found his elder brother sleeping upright in his chair.

Seto had been burning the midnight oil, again. Mokuba began to lose count of how many times he had found his brother like this before he left for school. He had always saved his goodbyes, not wanting to wake him up.

As Mokuba began to back away from the door, a blue light filled the room.

 _Vzzzzt. Vzzzzt._

Before Mokuba could enter and silence it, Seto reached for the phone. Talk about a light sleeper…

 _Vzzz-_

"This is Kaiba"

Mokuba watched as his brother leaned forward over his desk and ran a hand through his hair. Catching his eye, Mokuba gave him a slight smile and held his hand up to wave. He couldn't hear the voice on the other line from where he stood, but he assumed it was a business call.

Seto frowned slightly as he listened, slowly rising from his seat.

"I'll be right there"

Within seconds Seto had hung up the phone and shrugged his trench coat on.

"You're going to work, Seto?"

"Yes. Just received a call from Machida. He wouldn't say what was going on over the phone, but it sounded urgent."

Mokuba stepped to the side to allow his brother to exit the office. He didn't quite understand what was happening but he decided not to ask questions. He knew little of what his brother actually did, and any time he asked, Seto told him not to worry about it.

All Mokuba knew was that Seto's work required his technology and that he spent hours on his computer, stepping out when business required it. Seto preferred to keep it that way.

Although his brother wasn't a child anymore, he was still young and didn't need to be involved in his line of work. Confidentiality agreements aside, Mokuba was safer this way.

The truth was that Seto was a detective of sorts, who helped the Domino police on occasion. Seto's intelligence was far beyond average for someone his age, and he had excelled in high school and gained notoriety as one of Domino's best and brightest.

He had also gained notoriety for his name, something that Seto learned would make him more enemies over the years. They were far worse than anything he could have imagined at the young age of 8.

When he was 16, he became the primary shareholder and CEO of his stepfather Gozaburo's company, Kaiba Corporation. Together with Mokuba, he had succeeded in taking the company for himself, after years of being abused by Gozaburo.

It was Seto's first step in his quest to attain a better life for himself and his younger brother. After acquiring the company, he immediately ceased all of Gozaburo's operations and fired his board of directors.

Seto wanted to rid himself of his association with Gozaburo, and the public's perception that he too would be a corrupt businessman. Kaiba Corporation manufactured weapons, and Gozaburo had made himself rich from the plight of others. Weapons were manufactured for war, with Gozaburo willingly providing aid to whoever paid the heftiest sum.

Seto had to build Kaiba Corporation from the ground up, wanting to recreate it as a force for good rather than evil. Working tirelessly, Seto had turned it into a thriving technology company, becoming a leader in the industry.

He had built orphanages, providing state of the art living spaces for children who were growing up just like he did, without parents to guide and care for them.

Seto had created a new life for himself and Mokuba. For years everything was calm, and the new Kaiba Corp had helped in rebuilding Domino's infrastructure and rebuilt the economy. Seto didn't have to live under Gozaburo's shadow any longer.

Everything had changed a year ago, when a new player had emerged. Little was known about this man, except for his name: Marik.

Marik had come to Japan from Egypt, and it was said that he had come with nothing, accompanied by his henchman. It was like he had appeared out of nowhere.

Little by little, Domino had changed. Marik had sought out the weakened and disenchanted souls, with no sense of purpose in life.

He grew his own following, and used them to terrorize Domino in a way that Seto had not seen before. Crime and violence began to overrun the city, and the small Domino police force was powerless to stop it.

They called themselves the Ghouls, and it had been said that Marik had somehow controlled their minds, forcing them to do his bidding.

Seto didn't believe in such a thing, and didn't believe that some stupid mystical magic was at work. As far as he was concerned, it was all bullshit. Hysteria caused by the media and scared citizens. To Seto, Marik was just another asshole who was using people for his own personal gain.

What he did know was that no one knew what Marik looked like, and he was hiding in some part of the city where no one could find him. Anyone who was apprehended by the police had no idea, they had been rendered useless, as if their minds were somehow wiped clean.

The men who were captured were all found to have some sort of drug in their system, and Seto knew it had to be something Marik himself had created. The same drug was sold on the streets and in clubs, and the police had dubbed it "Millenium". Each pill had some sort of Egyptian eye carved onto it, and caused whoever took it to become something akin to a zombie.

Some men that they captured begged to be put out of their misery, because if "Marik-sama" found them, there'd be Hell to pay. Others spoke as though their voice was not their own, claiming that Domino would one day be controlled by "Marik-sama".

It had affected the local students, some had even died from its effects. One of Seto's employees had committed suicide after his son died. Others fled to try and save their children.

People lived in fear every day, running the other way when they saw the Ghouls walk the streets in their black hooded robes.

Seto grew tired of what the city had become, tired of seeing people live in fear at the hands of some loser and his flunkies. Using his technology at his disposal, he had tried to track the criminal activity in Domino using a complex algorithm and data he gathered from the various surveillance cameras scattered throughout Domino.

The police had come to him, hoping that his intelligence and technology could somehow help them. Seto had no interest in working with such a poor excuse for a police force, wanting to take the matter into his own hands.

Seto had no time for inadequacy, and he made sure the Domino police knew that. He had agreed to help them, on the condition that they would not question him or try to gain access to his technologies. The police were reluctant to work with him, as they knew where his name came from. That, and Seto could be quite arrogant. His stubbornness and pride rubbed Police Chief Machida the wrong way, and they were constantly butting heads.

If nothing else, the men shared a common goal. Unfortunately with no way to know what Marik looked like, or where he could be hiding, both Seto and the police had constantly reached dead ends.

For all Seto knew, Marik could be walking the streets with everyone else. Another face in the crowd, while Domino fell apart around him.

After dropping Mokuba off at school, Seto had his personal assistant Isono drop him off a few blocks from the police headquarters. Isono was aware of what his boss was doing, but he knew better than to comment on it. Seto preferred to keep his "relationship" with the police under wraps.

Not that anyone would have noticed him walking in anyway, it was still early in the morning and the police headquarters was just outside of the city center. Kids were already in school, and people had hurried to into work, hoping to be done before the sun set and the Ghouls came out.

No one raised their heads when he walked in, they were too involved in handling paperwork and answering calls from concerned citizens. The commotion was too much for Seto to bear, especially since he hadn't had coffee in hours. Quickly growing irritated, he made his way into Machida's office.

"Mr. Kaiba, I'm glad you could make it. Sorry to have called you on such short notice. We received a call this morning you see, and well—"

"Spit it out, Machida. Why did you call me in?"

Machida sighed. Seto had noticed that the man's jet black hair was peppered with white. Heh. The man was looking worse for wear every time Seto saw him. Not that Seto was any stranger to stress, but Machida had clearly been handling it poorly. The man was only in his early 40s, but the demands of his job had started to catch up with him.

"We received a call this morning from an older woman who had heard screaming in a neighboring apartment. A similar call was placed a little earlier than that as another neighbor reported hearing arguing and some kind of commotion. When I gathered my men to go and investigate, we found two women."

Seto crossed his arms and frowned. Sounded like some idiots who had probably gone out to drink and party the night before. Not even the Ghouls could keep the young college students away from that. If anything, the presence of the Millenium drug probably made it more exhilarating.

"They probably got into a fight over some idiot. Hardly a reason for dragging me down here."

"Must have been one hell of a fight. Considering one of them was unconscious on the floor sitting in a puddle of her own blood."

Machida slid a few photos across his desk, and Seto took a quick glance. One was a closeup of several stab wounds.

"Wouldn't be the first time"

Taking a glance at another photo, Seto realized that the woman looked familiar. The long, blonde curly hair, manicured nails and makeup, and purple outfit…

He remembered seeing her around in high school with Yugi and his group of friends. If Seto recalled correctly, her name was Mai something.

"Where is she now?" He asked, sliding the photos back to Machida. "And where is the weapon?"

"The weapon is currently being analyzed in the lab. As for the victim, luckily she was alive, but just barely. She was admitted to the hospital just a few hours ago and received a blood transfusion. The reason why I called you is because the nurses found a foreign chemical in her bloodstream."

"…and you think it's Millennium"

"That's what I'm hoping you can help me figure out. Especially since the other woman showed signs consistent with frequent usage of the drug."

"Don't tell me. Mysterious memory loss?"

Machida nodded.

"She does not appear to have any idea of what happened. My questioning yielded nothing but silence and blank stares. I'm hoping you can step in."

"What makes you think she'll answer any of my questions?"

"Mr. Kaiba, you certainly have a way of dealing with things differently. You are far more perceptive than any of my officers, and you may be able to see something that I don't."

"I'm not anyone's personal shrink, Machida. I don't have time for this."

"Well I could always call our old friend. He'll certainly be more willing to work with me on this. Who knows, he may be the one to crack the case we've been struggling with."

Machida smirked as he noticed Seto's eyes narrow, and he knew he had struck a nerve.

"First of all, he's _your_ friend, not mine. Second, I doubt that fool could ever outsmart me. He may have been my fiercest competitor back in high school, but those days are over. Last I heard, he had left for Egypt years ago."

In high school, Seto had competed with Yugi's cousin Atem in various gaming tournaments, and Atem had always beaten Seto at any game. Atem had been dubbed the "King of Games", and had been Seto's rival all throughout high school. They had both met Machida when he was a judge at the competitions. Atem had taken it upon himself to join the police force after their final year of high school, claiming he wanted to rid Domino of "evil".

As far as Seto was concerned, he had an over-inflated sense of heroism and was convinced that dark forces were at work behind petty crimes people committed. Again, all bullshit. There was no mystical force at work behind people's actions. He left to Egypt some time after, and all Seto knew was that he wanted to learn more about his family history.

' _Good riddance'_

"That won't be necessary. I'm sure Atem would only agree with your stupid "mind control" theory. Take me to the suspectl, let's get this over with."

Machida led Seto down one of the hallways and up to a door at the very end. When they arrived, an officer was leaving with an empty tray.

"She hasn't touched her food sir."

Machida waved him off. "It's fine, she's bound to be hungry at some point. Maybe she'll talk, if she hasn't by then."

Craning his head towards Seto, the officer followed Machida's gesture and froze. "Mr. Kaiba, sir!" he said with a bow before running off.

Machida opened the door and held it open for Seto.

"Right this way."

Stepping inside, Seto immediately noticed that the room was empty save for a table and a few folding chairs. The green-grey walls made the room look dingy, and a fluorescent light that hung from the ceiling flickered. A plastic wrapped convenience store sandwich lay on the table, while an untouched paper cup filled with water sat next to it.

At the table sat the woman in question. Her head was down, and her shoulder-length brown hair fell to the front, choppy bangs shielding her eyes. Seto noticed that the black dress underneath her blanket was bunched up to mid-thigh, and was noticeably wrinkled. One of her arms lay flat against her side, and her other arm lay on the table, handcuffs on her wrist kept her chained down. He heard her sniff between breaths. She had been crying.

Machida was silent as he closed the door behind him. Seto pulled out a chair and sat in front of the wonan. It was then that she slowly lifted her head.

Seto remained stoic on the outside, but on the inside a slight shock went through him.

Looking up at him were a pair of bloodshot cerulean blue eyes.

Those eyes belonged to the last person Seto expected to face in a situation like this.

 _Anzu Mazaki._

…

That's it for Chapter 1! I hope it was an enjoyable read! I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of proud of the buildup towards the cliffhanger. I'm sure you all knew it was Anzu since the prologue, but Seto didn't know that!

I hope my backstory was convincing enough… I tried to incorporate elements of Seto and Atem's rivalry and the elements of their characters.

Please review and stay tuned for the next chapter!


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